I recently started using Apple TV, but one of the movies I bought isn’t working. So, I did some research into how to get it to work and here’s what I found.
When an Apple TV purchase doesn’t show up, it might be due to a sync issue. Try signing out of your Apple ID on the Apple TV and then sign back in. This can refresh your account information and often resolves the issue of missing content.
Another possibility is that the purchase was made with a different Apple ID. Make sure you’re logged into the Apple TV with the same Apple ID used to make the purchase. If you have multiple Apple IDs, check the purchase history in each account to locate your purchase.
Lastly, the problem could be due to a delay in the Apple Store. Sometimes, purchases take a while to process and appear on your device. Wait for a few hours and check again. If the purchase still doesn’t show up, check your bank statement to confirm if the transaction was successful. If it was, and the content still isn’t available, you might need to reach out to Apple Support for further assistance.
In this article I will be looking at every type of issue you can get when purchasing, renting and watching Apple TV movies.
Apple TV Movie Not Showing Up/Movie Library Not Showing
Once you purchase a movie it will show up in your library, but sometimes it might not show up at all. Here’s why your Apple TV movie isn’t showing up and how to see it on your device.
As a whole, it will show up after around a minute once Apple has verified your purchase. If it isn’t showing up in the movie library yet, then you can search for the show and next to it it should have a play button or a download icon.
If it’s still saying ‘Buy or Rent it’ next to the name of the movie after you’ve purchased it, it hasn’t gone through yet. And it’s usually updating in the background. There’s often a slight delay from when you buy it, to when it shows up ready for download.
You can verify whether you successfully bought it by going to your account tab to see a list of purchases. There are a few different ways to see the purchase history for your Apple movies to check if it’s gone through and you did purchase it. Here’s how to check it for each of the different devices.
Apple TV app on a Smart TV
At the very top of the Apple TV app there is an option which says ‘Purchased’. Just navigate to that using your smart TV remote and select it to see a list of your recent purchases.
If it’s not on that list, then you should search for the specific title for example Jurassic Park. When it brings up the title it will say play or download instead of ‘buy/rent’ to show that you’ve successfully purchased it.
Apple TV on an Apple device (iPad, iPhone, iMac)
For an Apple device go to the Settings, and select your account. Then select ‘Media & Purchases’. Once you select that there will be an option to see your purchase history.
Just signed in to your Apple ID
When you sign in to your Apple ID on a new device for example an iPad, or iPhone it takes a little bit of time for it to sync to the iCloud. And during that time your previous purchases won’t show until the app has fully synced.
Apple TV Won’t Play Movie
One thing that can happen with your Apple TV is that when you select a movie to play nothing happens. To get it working here’s what you need to do:
As a general rule, this is caused by a slow internet connection, or an error with the app. To fix it, verify that the internet connection you use for your Apple TV is working. If your internet is working fine then you should restart the device.
If it’s still won’t load or takes a long time to load it usually means your internet connection is running slowly. It could be because other people in your home are using a lot of the bandwidth, and your movie can’t download fast enough to begin playing.
As a first step you should restart the device by turning it on and off again. And also ‘hard crash’ the device. To hard crash each device is a bit different for example on the iPhone you press and hold the power button and the home button until it restarts.
To hard crash your specific device, you should look up how to do it in the user manual or on the official Apple website for the device you’re using.
You can check that your internet speed is by doing an internet speed test using a free online tool, such as Speedtest.org.
You can get it to check how fast you can download and whether it’s fast or slow compared to the average in your city. That way you can see whether your internet is running at 100%. From there, if your internet is working properly, and you’ve successfully purchased or rented a movie from Apple TV, then you should contact Apple Support to look into it for you.
Can’t Find Purchased Movies on Apple TV
After you purchase a movie on Apple TV it gets synced to your Apple ID. But, how do you get your device to show your purchased movies when they aren’t displaying? Here’s what you need to know…
Purchased movies will show up as long as you are signed in to the same Apple ID that you used to purchase the movies. Otherwise, if you don’t have an internet connection it won’t be able to sync your device to your Apple ID. To start with, restart your device, and see if the movies then show up.
After that, verify that you’re signed into the right Apple ID. You can see that by going Settings, and selecting Account. It will say what Apple ID is currently signed in. If it’s the wrong account, or you haven’t put your account in then put the correct account information in.
Then allow Apple TV to sync, and update all of the settings for your account the movies you purchased should show in the Library on the Apple TV app, or in the Videos app. If you still can’t get them to load, then double check your internet connection is connected and working.
These are the major issues that will stop them from showing. But, if you still can’t get them to show then create a support ticket with Apple, and one of their customer service reps will look into the issue for you.
Can’t Play Purchased Movies on Apple TV
Once you’ve purchased a movie on Apple TV, it will play normally by streaming it to your device. Some devices can also download the movie to them, and you can watch it without streaming it. However, what do you do when it won’t play?
A movie you purchased on Apple TV that doesn’t play is caused by a bad internet connection. Or, an issue with the particular movie itself which causes it not to play. The best first step is to restart your device, and check your internet connection is working.
When the internet connection isn’t working properly your device won’t be able to download the movie or download the files it needs to stream and play it. So, a good first step is to verify that your internet is connected, and the device you’re using to run Apple TV is connected to the internet.
You can do that by trying to load something else in the Apple TV app, or using another device on the same internet connection your Apple TV app is using.
Once the internet is working you should close Apple TV, and open it again. And after that restart your device.
You’ll also want to check that your Apple TV app is the latest version. To do that go to the Settings and select ‘General, then ‘About’. From there it will display what version you have, and there will be a button where you can check for updates.
If none of these steps worked for you then, it may be an issue with the specific movie title, and you should contact Apple support to have them look into the issue for you.
Apple TV Movie Not Loading
When you press the button to watch an Apple TV movie, it should take a short amount of time to load, and then start streaming. But, sometimes it might not load at all, here’s what causes the issue and how to fix it.
In total this happens because you don’t have a good internet connection, the Apple TV app is frozen and needs to be restarted, or your device needs to be restarted. The first step to get it to work is to check that it’s connected to a good internet connection.
If your Wi-Fi connection goes in and out or has bad speed it will cause movies to not load in Apple TV. For example, if you’re using hotel or airport Wi-Fi it will take too long to download the necessary files.
As a result, it will take a very long time to load the movie, or will time out before it can get the files it needs. And then when it does play it will only play a few seconds before stopping again.
I ran into this issue myself when I watched an Apple TV movie I purchased. I thought I’d already downloaded it, but I hadn’t and my device needed to stream it. I didn’t realize and it used up all my mobile data and then stopped.
You can download movies to your device so you can watch them when you don’t have a solid internet connection. Or, want to limit how much internet you use during peak times if you’re sharing the internet connection.
But, you will need to connect to the internet for the Apple TV app to load your account. Being able to download a movie from Apple TV is only available on devices like iPhones and iPads, and won’t download to an Apple TV, or smart TV.
If your internet is working really well, or you downloaded the movie and it still won’t load then you should contact Apple support to look into it for you.
Apple TV+ and Apple TV channel subscription issue
If you use Apple TV+ or Apple TV channels there is a maximum amount of devices that can stream at the same time. On Apple TV+ it’s 6 devices and on Apple TV channels it’s 3 devices.
Copyright protected content owner: ReadyToDIY.com and was initially posted on May 7, 2021.
To know whether you have Apple TV+, you can check by going to the Apple TV app and selecting the Apple TV+ tab. The tab will have the details of your Apple TV+ subscription, or will say start a free trial.
An Apple TV channel is a specific channel that you pay a monthly subscription for per channel. Compared to Apple TV+ which gives you a wide range of channels for a lower fee.
If you’re watching a movie on one of these channels there’s a chance someone else is also using it, and you won’t be able to load a movie until one of them is finished.
How Long Do Apple TV Movie Rentals Last
An Apple TV rental is different to the old way of renting movies like going to Blockbuster, and is much more convenient because you can do it all from the comfort of your own home. But, how long does an Apple TV movie rental last, 2 days, 7 days?
As a whole an Apple TV movie rental will be watchable for 48 hours. But, once you purchase it you will have 30 days to watch it the first time. After you begin watching it, it will set a timer for 48 hours. After 48 hours it will delete it from your library.
Copyright article owner is ReadyToDiy.com for this article. This post was first published on May 7, 2021.
If you don’t watch it at all, after 30 days the movie will get deleted from your library. After it’s deleted from your library you’ll need to purchase it again to rewatch it. But, some movies and shows you can buy outright and they never expire.
Apple TV Movie Rental Won’t Play
An Apple TV movie rental will typically play without any issues, but there are a few things that can stop it from playing. Here’s what they are:
An Apple TV movie rental will only work on two devices at a time. One device can download it, and another device can stream it. If the rental is in use by more than 2 devices at the same time it won’t play on a third device, according to the official Apple support page.
Other than that, the other major issue is that you have a bad internet connection. In the old days, once you rent a movie you have the physical DVD or video cassette, and don’t need to do anything else.
But, with an Apple TV movie rental it needs to have an internet connection even if you already downloaded it to your device.
If it’s not in use by more than 2 devices at the same time, and your internet is working, then it may be that the actual movie has an issue. And when that happens it’s best to contact Apple support to have them look into it.
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ReadyToDIY is the owner of this article. This post was published on May 7, 2021.